Script compliance and quality assurance based on speech recognition and duration of interaction

ABSTRACT

Apparatus and methods are provided for using automatic speech recognition to analyze a voice interaction and verify compliance of an agent reading a script to a client during the voice interaction. In one aspect of the invention, a communications system includes a user interface, a communications network, and a call center having an automatic speech recognition component. In other aspects of the invention, a script compliance method includes the steps of conducting a voice interaction between an agent and a client and evaluating the voice interaction with an automatic speech recognition component adapted to analyze the voice interaction and determine whether the agent has adequately followed the script. In yet still further aspects of the invention, the duration of a given interaction can be analyzed, either apart from or in combination with the script compliance analysis above, to seek to identify instances of agent non-compliance, of fraud, or of quality-analysis issues.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No.13/684,719, filed on 26 Nov. 2012, which in turn is a continuation ofU.S. patent application Ser. No. 13/334,390, filed on 22 Dec. 2011, nowissued U.S. Pat. No. 8,326,626, which in turn is a continuation of U.S.patent application Ser. No. 12/686,842, filed on 13 Jan. 2010, nowissued U.S. Pat. No. 8,108,213, which in turn is a continuation of U.S.patent application Ser. No. 10/668,678, filed on 23 Sep. 2003, nowissued U.S. Pat. No. 7,664,641, entitled “SCRIPT COMPLIANCE AND QUALITYASSURANCE BASED ON SPEECH RECOGNITION AND DURATION OF INTERACTION”,which in turn is a continuation-in-part of U.S. patent application Ser.No. 09/785,048, filed on 15 Feb. 2001, now issued U.S. Pat. No.7,191,133, entitled “SCRIPT COMPLIANCE USING SPEECH RECOGNITION”. Thebenefit of the filing date of such application is hereby claimed to thefullest extent permitted under 35 U.S.C. §120, and the text of suchapplication is incorporated herein by this reference as if set forthherein verbatim.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a block diagram demonstrating aspects of a communicationssystem.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing a call center implementation of thedescribed communications system.

FIG. 3 is a block diagram of a scripting package for use in thedescribed communications system and methods.

FIG. 4 is a block diagram of a quality assurance logging process andquality assurance method.

FIG. 5 is a block diagram showing a number of call center actionsforming part of the communications system and methods.

FIG. 6 is a data flow diagram illustrating processing performed byadditional aspects of the invention that focus on the duration of theinteraction.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Overview of theInvention

Apparatus and methods are provided for using automatic speechrecognition technology to analyze a voice interaction and verifycompliance of an agent reading a script to a client during the voiceinteraction. The apparatus and methods are particularly suited for usein any situation where a voice interaction takes place in which at leastone participant is obliged to follow a prepared script, and areparticularly suited for use in the operation of a call center, such as,for example, to evaluate or verify that call center agents are properlyreciting scripts during telephone or web-based calls to or from callcenter customers.

In one aspect, a communications system includes a voice communicationsnetwork providing voice connectivity between a system user and a callcenter. The call center preferably includes a call control device forreceiving and routing calls, one or more agent workstations at which anagent is able to process an incoming or outgoing call, and a scriptcompliance module for analyzing a voice interaction between the systemuser and the agent. The system user is able to access the communicationssystem with any type of voice communications device, including, forexample, a telephone, a voice-capable computer, or a wirelesscommunications device. The voice communications network is provided withany form of voice communications capability needed to support the user'svoice communications device, such as a digital communications network,standard telephone network, internet-based, or wireless network. Thecall control device provides the functions of receiving the voicecommunication from the communications network and routing the call tothe agent workstation. The agent workstation will typically include atelephone and a computer, with the computer being optionally networkedto a database for data access by the agent.

The script compliance module is provided with an automatic speechrecognition (ASR) component, such as that provided by aspeaker-independent, continuous speech, multilingual, multi-dialect ASRcomponent such as those known in the art. The ASR component is adaptedto receive a digital signal representing a voice interaction between thesystem user and the agent, and to provide an output of an analysis ofthe digital signal for use in a quality assurance (QA) process.

In another aspect, a method is provided for analyzing a voiceinteraction and verifying compliance of an agent reading a script to aclient during the voice interaction, for example, as part of atelemarketing campaign. The voice interaction preferably takes placebetween a system user and an agent over the communications network, butmay alternatively be a face-to-face voice interaction or any voiceinteraction capable of being captured and analyzed by an ASR component.The agent may be physically located within the call center, or may be ata distant location, but the voice interaction is preferably routedthrough the call control device at the call center. In the preferredembodiment, the agent is responsible for referring to and following aprepared script for at least a portion of the voice interaction. Thevoice interaction is captured, converted to digital form, and exposed tothe ASR component, in real-time or in a recorded form, and the ASRcomponent analyzes at least a portion of the voice interaction. Theanalyzed portion is compared against a standard, preferably the expectedcontent from the prepared script or script portion associated with thegiven portion of the voice interaction, and a determination is madeconcerning the extent to which the agent complied with the script duringthe voice interaction. For example, one or more portions of the voiceinteraction may be assigned a score to indicate a level of scriptcompliance by the agent, as determined by the ASR component, and takinginto account any limitations (e.g., confidence-level thresholds) in theASR component's ability to evaluate the voice interaction.

In yet another aspect, one or more actions are taken based upon theabove script compliance determination. In a preferred embodiment, theseactions are taken as part of a quality assurance or employee incentiveprogram. The actions include, for example, sending the voice interactionto a quality assurance monitor for review, assigning the agent forrandom voice interaction review, sending an e-mail or other flag to anoversight authority for review, sending a voice or text message to theagent, updating a file associated with the agent, updating an incentiveprogram to reflect the compliance determination, or other such actions.

In yet another aspect, a scripting package and quality assurance processare constructed to provide panel-level review of a voice interactionduring the quality assurance process. The scripting package preferablyincludes a plurality of call scripts used by the agent during the voiceinteraction, a log record layout including provision for each valuelogged during the voice interaction, and a plurality of ASR referencetexts corresponding with the plurality of call scripts. The voiceinteraction is recorded and logged, including a timestamp and timedisplacement for each script panel occurring during the voiceinteraction. The quality assurance process includes a provision forretrieving and reviewing the recorded voice interaction by panel level.Accordingly, if a script compliance scoring system is used, the scoremay be retrieved and reviewed for each panel forming a part of the voiceinteraction without having to review the entire voice interaction.

Several advantages are obtained through use of the apparatus and methodsso described. For example, the described apparatus and method provide ascript compliance function having a wide range and scope of applicationsat a relatively minor expense when compared to non-automated managementsystems. By employing an ASR component to analyze and evaluate the voiceinteractions, a call center provider can decrease or avoid the need tohave individual managers or other call reviewers perform thosefunctions. This becomes particularly advantageous to call centers havingseveral agents, perhaps dozens or hundreds, or where the agents are notphysically located on the call center premises.

A further advantage obtained by the present apparatus and methods is theability to provide useful information concerning agent script complianceto a quality assurance (QA) authority in a time-effective manner. Forexample, when the apparatus and methods are used in real-time, a reportmay be submitted automatically to a QA authority almost immediatelyafter a given voice interaction is completed. Where the voiceinteraction is recorded and reviewed later, time delays may still beminimized. In addition, near instantaneous feedback may be given to anagent to attempt to minimize problems with script compliance.

A still further advantage of the described systems and methods is theprovision of panel-level playback and review of a voice interaction inthe quality assurance process. This provides more effective andefficient methods of quality assurance in, for example, a call centeroperation.

Other and further advantages are described below and still others willbe apparent from a review of the descriptions contained herein.

The communications systems and script compliance methods may optionallyinclude additional, or fewer, features and functionality than thosedescribed herein for the preferred embodiments while still obtaining thebenefits described. The inventions described herein are not limited tothe specific embodiments described, or to the specific equipment,features, or functionality described for the apparatus and methods ofthe examples contained herein. These examples are provided toillustrate, but not to limit the inventions described.

The preferred embodiments include several aspects generally directed tovoice communications apparatus and methods, several of which aredescribed below. The primary preferred embodiment is a script complianceapparatus and method particularly adapted for use in a call center, andmost particularly in a telemarketing application. While this embodimentis described in detail herein, it will be understood by those skilled inthe art that other and further aspects and applications are possible.For example, the systems and methods may be adapted for use in callcenters for applications other than telemarketing, or for voiceinteractions not associated with call centers or telemarketingoperations. The following description is not intended to limit the scopeof the described inventions, which are instead set forth in the appendedclaims.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

FIG. 1 shows a block diagram of one implementation of the apparatus andmethods of these inventions. The diagram in FIG. 1 reflects aspects of acall center implementation, though it will be understood that thevarious structures and functionalities may be extended to otherimplementations, including face-to-face voice interactions, electroniccommerce, telephone, web, or wireless-based based information services,and the like. The communications system shown in FIG. 1 includes a userinterface 10, a communications network 12, and a call center 14, eachdescribed in further detail below.

The user interface 10 provides the function of allowing a system user,such as a telemarketing customer, to conduct a voice communication witha telemarketing services provider. The user interface 10 may be astandard function telephone, a video telephone, a wireless communicationdevice, an internet-based communication device, or other instrumentadapted to support voice communication. In the preferred embodiment, theuser interface is a standard telephone.

The communications network 12 provides the function of transmitting avoice signal between the user interface and the call center.Accordingly, the communications network 12 may include an analog ordigital telephone network, an internet-based network, a wirelessnetwork, or any voice communications supporting network. Thecommunications network 12 supports voice communications between a systemuser using the user interface communication device and, in the preferredembodiment, the call center 14. In the preferred embodiment, thecommunications network is a standard telephone service network providedby a long distance and/or local service carrier such as AT&T, Sprint,MCI, or others.

The call center 14 serves as a call termination and servicing point, andmay be provided having any number of features, functions, andstructures. In the typical call center, a call control component isprovided to automatically receive and route calls to one or moretelemarketing agents working at agent workstations within the callcenter. An agent workstation may include only a telephone, but it istypically provided with a networked computer and terminal used tosupport the agent functions. For example, a central database containingcustomer information and information relating to goods, services, orother offerings being provided by the telemarketer is typically providedand is accessible by the computers and terminals located at the agentworkstations. When a telemarketing call is being processed, informationrelating to that call (e.g., customer identification information,product offerings information, credit card information, etc.) areautomatically sent by the central database to the agent terminal in a“screen pop.” The agent then reads information from the computerterminal as the call is processed, and enters new information as it isobtained during the call.

FIG. 2 shows additional details of the call center 14 and, inparticular, an embodiment representing an inbound call center. The callcenter 14 includes a programmable switch 16 that operates to receiveincoming calls and to provide an interface for access to calls, calldata, and other call center operations. The call center also preferablycontains an automatic call distributor (ACD) 18 for routing calls toagents according to pre-determined criteria. While these primaryfunctions of the switch and ACD are described, other details andfunctions of these devices are generally known in the art, and will notbe discussed here.

Three agent workstations 20 a-c are shown in the call center in FIG. 2.It is possible to have any number of agent workstations at the callcenter or, alternatively, to provide off-site agents that are able toaccess the call center remotely by another voice communications networknot shown. In the case of an inbound telemarketing campaign usingmultiple agents, the switch and ACD cooperate to route calls to theappropriate location where an agent is able to process the calls. Theagent workstation also includes a computer terminal at which data may beaccessed by the agent. Typical call centers utilize computer-telephoneintegration (CTI) in which telephone number information (automaticnumber identification (ANI) or dialed number information service (DNIS))is associated with other customer information stored on a database thatis then accessed in real-time during a telemarketing call and a “screenpop” containing this information occurs at the agent workstationterminal. Additional information concerning the goods, services, orother offerings is also provided to the agent workstation terminal. Acentral computer 22 is shown in FIG. 2 having a network connection toeach of the agent workstations, and a connection to the switch to obtaincaller information from the incoming call. The details of the centralcomputer and network are beyond the scope of the present inventions, andare therefore not discussed further here. Moreover, it is typical toprovide a call center with other features and functions desired for agiven call center application. Although these additional features andfunctions are not explicitly described herein, those skilled in the artwill recognize that they may be added to the described system consistentwith the needs of the given application.

In a particular preferred form, data is provided to the agentworkstations during calls in a series of “panels”, with each panel beingassociated with a particular script or portion of a script. The scriptsare prepared as a part of a telemarketing campaign, and include theinformation needed to be given to the customer in a form intended to beeffective and efficient to achieve its purpose. In particular, in atypical campaign, a telemarketer strives to obtain the most efficientresult in the shortest transaction time in order to decrease on-linecosts. The scripts are, therefore, typically highly-developed and testedto determine their effectiveness. A telemarketing campaign can besignificantly undermined by an agent's failure to closely follow ascript.

In addition, by presenting script information in panel form, a qualityassurance process may preferably be coordinated with the scriptingprocess to provide panel-level playback. This panel-level playback, asopposed to the need to play back and/or navigate through an entiretelemarketing voice interaction to review a certain portion of it, is asignificant advantage provided by the described system.

Accordingly, a script compliance module 24 is included in the callcenter. The script compliance module 24 is a software package that isshown in FIG. 2 as having an interface with the central computer, butits location within the call center is optional, as long as access isavailable to the digitized voice interaction. The script compliancemodule 24 performs several functions within the call center, as setforth in more detail below. The script compliance module includes anadvanced speech recognition (ASR) component whereby a voice interactionbetween a customer and an agent may be analyzed and evaluated forcompliance with an expected standard. As discussed below, the scriptcompliance module may be constructed to operate in real-time, i.e., asthe voice interaction takes place, or, preferably, it may include arecording capability such that voice interactions are reviewed andevaluated at a later time.

The ASR component of the script compliance module is supported byproviding an appropriate ASR software package. These ASR softwarepackages are commercially available, and examples include thoseavailable from Nuance Communications (Menlo Park, Calif.) andSpeechworks International, Inc. (Boston, Mass.). A detailed descriptionof speech recognition technology is not necessary to understand thesystems and methods described herein. Briefly, however, the ASRcomponent is adapted to capture a voice signal and convert it to digitalform (if not presented to the ASR component in digital form already).The digital signal is then converted to a spectral representation thatundergoes an analysis to match the spectral representation to a writtenvocabulary, and converts the voice signal to written text. Currentlyavailable systems are able to analyze continuous, multi-lingual,multi-dialect speech from in a speaker-independent manner and convert itto its corresponding text form.

As noted, the script compliance module 24 may be adapted to operate inreal-time by including a component for converting the voice interactionto digital form for direct analysis by the ASR software package. In thatcase, the voice interactions are preferably captured live and feddirectly to the digital converter and the ASR software package foranalysis. Optionally, the script compliance module 24 may be adapted toanalyze recorded voice interactions. In particular, and preferably, thescript compliance module 24 or other system component may include one ofthe commercially available audio recording and monitoring systems suchas those available from NICE Systems Ltd. or Witness Systems, Inc. Insuch a case, the voice interaction recorded by the audio recording andmonitoring system may supply audio files to the ASR software package foranalysis. Because recordings of the voice interactions may be useful toa call center administrator for other purposes, related or not to scriptcompliance, the preferred embodiment includes a voice interactionrecording component such as those described above.

The script compliance module 24 preferably includes a scripting package26, discussed in more detail below. The scripting package 26 is depictedgraphically in FIG. 3, and includes the following components:

First, one or more call scripts 28 are provided. The call scripts 28 maybe maintained in the script compliance module, or, preferably, they maybe maintained on the central computer and accessible by the scriptcompliance module. The call scripts 28 are accessed during the voiceinteraction and contain the information to be read by the agent to thecustomer during the voice interaction. As noted above, the call scripts28 are preferably presented in separate panels containing discreteportions of the overall call script. As an agent progresses through acall, the agent moves from a first panel, to a second, to a third, andso on. A single offer of a good or service may be contained on a singlepanel, or on several panels. Alternatively, several offers may bepresented during a single call.

Second, a log record layout module 30 is provided. A log record ispreferably created for each voice interaction taking place at the callcenter. The log record layout includes data fields for all data thatcould be captured during calls, and log records are maintained as partof the ongoing function of the call center. The data fields will, ofcourse, vary based upon the operation of the call center. Typical datafields will include date and time of call, length of call, agentidentity, customer identity, and any transaction data obtained duringthe call. Some data fields may be filled automatically during a call,such as date, time, agent identity, and the like, while others may befilled by the agent during the call.

Third, an ASR text module 32 is provided. The ASR text is a referencetext to be used by the ASR component of the script compliance module,and corresponds to the call scripts described above. As with the callscripts, the ASR text is preferably provided in separate panels.

Fourth, a set of action rules 34 is provided. In the most general sense,the action rules take the output of the ASR component evaluation of thevoice interaction and, based thereon, direct an action to be taken byanother component of the script compliance module. The output of the ASRcomponent evaluation may comprise, for example, a numerical scoreindicating the degree to which the voice interaction complied with theASR text. The actions directed by the set of action rules may comprise,for example, a quality assurance (QA) action to be taken based upon thenumerical score. For example, scores less than 60 may be sent to a QAauthority for review, scores between 60 and 80 may have random callsselected for review by a QA authority, and scores over 80 may be used todrive a QA incentive program. These are examples only. The determinationof specific standards and actions will depend, of course, on the type ofapplication.

Fifth, a panel timestamp logging feature 36 is provided. The paneltimestamp logging feature assigns a time displacement timestamp to eachpanel as it is presented and viewed by an agent during a voiceinteraction with a customer. For example, in a voice interaction inwhich a first panel is processed in 15 seconds and a second panel isprocessed in 12 seconds, the first panel will log from 0:00:00 to0:00:15 (i.e., the duration of the voice interaction relating to thefirst panel) and the next panel will log from 0:00:16 to 0:00:27. Thisprogression continues for each panel used during the voice interaction.A log of the timestamps is maintained for each voice interaction. Thetimestamps are then preferably used in the quality assurance process tofacilitate panel-level playback of the voice interaction.

The communications system operation will now be described in referenceto FIG. 4, and in the context of a telemarketing call. A telemarketingagent and a customer engage in a voice interaction during which theagent processes the call 40, i.e., the agent reads from scriptspresented on the workstation terminal and enters information in thefields provided according to responses obtained from the customer. Asnoted above, the scripts are preferably presented to the agent inpanels, with each panel corresponding to a portion of the overallscript, or to a separate script. The time displacement per panel islogged 42 as a portion of the log record. Once the call is completed 44,all data obtained during the call is logged according to the log recordlayout. If a voice recording or video recording are made, they too arelogged and stored for later use in the QA process.

The QA process 46 is next begun by retrieving the voice interactionrecord. The log record is also retrieved and reviewed to determine whichscripts were to have been recited by the agent, and the correspondingASR texts are retrieved for the ASR analysis. The voice and/or videorecording is preferably divided into panel-level segments 48 for reviewand evaluation, and the log record is evaluated 50 to determine theexpected ASR text by panel. A comparison of the voice interaction withthe ASR text is then performed by the ASR component in order todetermine the degree of compliance of the voice interaction with the ASRtext. In the preferred embodiment, the ASR component assigns scores 52based upon the level of accuracy of the comparison. Confidence-levelthresholds are used in evaluating the match accuracy. After each panelis evaluated and scored, an overall score may be determined. Thepanel-level scores and overall scores are next used to determine anyaction 54 to be taken as provided in the pre-determined set of actionrules. Examples of such actions include sending an e-mail containing thefile for review, providing a feedback message to the agent, or otheractions tailored to the particular application.

As an extension of the QA process, the stored voice interaction and logrecords may be retrieved from the system by a QA authority at a latertime for additional analysis. The records may be used to review theassigned panel-level and/or overall compliance scores. In addition, allor a portion of the voice and/or video recording may be played back foranalysis. The logging process included in the scripting package allowspanel-level playback of the voice interaction either in conjunctionwith, or independent from the ASR analyzing function of the system.

A block diagram providing an additional representation of the callcenter actions is shown in FIG. 5. The ASR Interface 56 is used to setthe initial conditions of the ASR component of the script compliancemodule. The initial conditions of the ASR component include thedefinitions of the ASR texts 58, the definitions of the evaluationconditions 60—i.e., the point in time during a voice interaction a givenASR text is expected to be read—and the action rules 62, discussedabove. Any changes or modifications to the initial conditions are madeby accessing these features via the ASR Interface 56 and making thedesired changes.

When a call is processed 64, a voice recording is made 66 and,optionally, a video recording 68 is made. Each of these recordings maybe separately logged and stored for later retrieval as needed. A logrecord 70 is created of the voice interaction during the call and isused, along with the ASR initial conditions, to build an expected speechlist 72 to which the voice recording will be compared. For example, as acall is processed, the agent will view, read from, and enter informationinto several panels according to the nature and flow of the call. Theinteractive logic concerning all branching of the scripts and panelsprovided to the agent during the call is maintained on the centralcomputer or, alternatively, in the script compliance module, anddictates which call scripts are presented to the agent at each step ofthe call. The evaluation conditions contain the information coordinatingthe voice interaction, scripts, panels, and ASR texts. These are used tobuild the expected speech list.

The actual voice recording is then compared 74 to the ASR text todetermine compliance. A score is generated 76 indicating the measuredcompliance, taking into account the confidence-level thresholds of theASR component, and the score is evaluated 78 against pre-determinedstandards. The pre-determined standards may be static or may vary, andmay be included in the ASR evaluation conditions. For example, an 80%accuracy score may be sufficient for one script or script portion, but a90% accuracy score may be required for another script or portion. Thescore and evaluation may be added to a report 80 of the call for laterretrieval. An action 82 is next taken based upon the score according tothe pre-determined set of action rules. Examples of these actionsinclude e-mailing a report (which may optionally include a copy of thedigital recording of the voice interaction) to a QA authority 84,providing a feedback message directly to the agent 86, or any other 88action appropriate for the given application.

FIG. 6 is a data flow diagram illustrating processing performed byadditional aspects of the invention that focus on the duration of theinteraction. These further aspects of the invention provide methods, andsystems, processors 604, and computer-readable media suitable forperforming the methods, of performing quality analysis on a plurality ofinteractions, with each one of the interactions involving at least oneagent. The method can include at least the following. Data representingat least some of the plurality of interactions is obtained for examplefrom a data store 600, with each one of the interactions having arespective duration. This duration can be expressed as a pre-processedand stored parameter, or can be derived by analyzing time-related data(timestamps or the like) associated with the data representingrespective interactions. Data representing at least one expectedduration parameter applicable to at least some of the interactions isobtained for example from a data store 614. For given ones of theinteractions, the actual durations of the given interactions arecompared to the expected duration parameters applicable to theinteractions. Based on this comparison between the actual duration ofgiven interactions and an expected duration of those given interactions,the given interactions are dispositioned.

Turning in more detail to the specific aspects of the method, obtainingdata representing the plurality of interactions can include receivingrespective voice records of the plurality of interactions. These voicerecords can be from the data store 600 records of voice-basedinteractions involving agents physically located at a call center orphysically located remotely from a call center. In the former case, thecall center might process incoming or outgoing telephone calls on behalfof a client of the call center, or the call center may be an in-houseoperation processing calls from its customers. In either case, theagents handling the interactions may be home-based or remote agents, whomay contract with one or more call centers to handle such interactionson behalf of the call centers.

Given sufficient history and experience with processing suchinteractions, management entities (human or automated) responsible forpreventing fraud and ensuring quality processing of such interactionscan categorize interactions processed or expected to be processed by acall center or agents associated with such call center, and canassociate a respective expected duration parameter with each category. Acategory assignment process 606 can receive as input parameters from,for example, the data store 600 that pertain to various interactions,such as DNIS, ANI, descriptions of goods/services involved therein, orany other data stored during conventional call center operations.Illustrative but non-limiting examples of categories, as may be storedin a data store 608, might include respective categories for at leastone of inbound telemarketing calls, outbound telemarketing calls,customer service calls, and technical support calls, but othercategories may become apparent to those skilled in the art in view ofthis teaching, and are within the scope of the instant invention. Oncethese categories are defined, the actual durations 602 of various giveninteractions can be retrieved and compared to expected durationparameters 610 that are associated with the category to which the giveninteractions are assigned.

Those skilled in the art will recognize that the dashed lines connectingblocks 600, 606, 608, and 604 indicate the optional status of theprocessing and data flow corresponding to those lines. Specifically,some embodiments of the invention may not include all or some of theabove teaching regarding categorizing the various interactions. Wherecategories are not used, expected durations for various transactions canbe stored and accessed from a data store 614.

Those skilled in the art will further recognize that for the purposes ofconvenience, legibility, and clarity, FIG. 6 illustrates the variousdata stores 600, 614, and 608 separately, and they are discussedseparately herein. However, the embodiment shown in FIG. 6 isillustrative rather than limiting, and that some or all of these variousdata stores could readily be combined or consolidated into one or moredata stores without departing from the scope of the invention.

Once the processor 604 compares the actual duration of a giveninteraction with the applicable expected duration parameter (whetherdefined on a per-interaction basis or a per-category basis), the giveninteraction may be dispositioned in response to an output signal 616,resulting from this comparison. Depending on the relationship betweenthe actual duration and the expected duration parameters, apart from orcombined with a consideration of any script compliance issues identifiedaccording to the teachings elsewhere herein, a comparison of the twomight indicate a quality control (QC) issue or possibly a fraud issuewith an agent who processed the interaction. Where such circumstancesexist, the given interaction may be assigned for further evaluation,either by manual means such as live supervisors, and/or by automatedmeans such as further processing by speech recognition systems.

As illustrative but non-limiting examples of the above teaching, if theactual duration of the interaction is less than a pre-defined standardapplicable to the interaction or category of interactions, thiscircumstance may raise QC issues, and may suggest that the agent skippedpart of a script controlling the interaction, or terminated the callprematurely and improperly. In such cases, the method can detect thesetypes of occurrences and flag them appropriately for furtherinvestigation and/or follow-up with the agent in question. Conversely,if the actual duration of a given interaction or category ofinteractions exceeds a pre-defined standard applicable to theinteraction, this circumstance may suggest that the agent failed towrap-up and close the call in a timely manner or that the agent failedto pace the interaction appropriately. In other cases, interactionshaving excessive length may raise suspicions of fraud because theexcessive length may have been due to the agent being distracted oroccupied with performing improper activities during the interaction,such as copying down sensitive information belonging to a caller or callrecipient, entering his/her own address as a ship-to address, or thelike. In the context of home- or remotely-based agents, such agents arenot subject to immediate, in-person supervision, so the need toproactively detect and investigate QC or fraud can be particularly acutewith these agents, perhaps even more so than call center-based agentswho are supervised in-person.

The pre-defined standards referenced herein can take various forms, suchas a range of durations (e.g., X time-units through Y time-units) thatare considered permissible or proper in the context of a given type orcategory of interaction. The pre-defined standards can also be specifiedin terms of a threshold value, such that an actual interaction having aduration above or below this threshold is either acceptable orunacceptable for example, an interaction having duration greater than Atime-units or less than B time units may be defined as questionable ongrounds of QC or fraud.

A suitable application program can implement software residing on thecomputer-readable medium or media readable and executable by theprocessor 604 and embodying the various aspects of the method discussedherein and shown in the drawing figures, and can be coded using anysuitable programming or scripting language. However, it is to beunderstood that the invention as described herein is not dependent onany particular operating system, environment, or programming language.Illustrative operating systems include without limitation LINUX, UNIX,or any of the Windows™-family of operating systems, and illustrativelanguages include without limitation a variety of structured andobject-oriented languages such as C, C++, Visual Basic, or the like.Likewise, the invention as described herein is not dependent on anyparticular make or model of processor 604. Instead, any commerciallyavailable microprocessor or central processing unit (CPU) may besuitable, depending on the circumstances of a given application of theinvention.

As those skilled in the art will understand, the program of instructionscan be loaded and stored onto a program storage medium or devicereadable by the processor 604 or other machine, embodying a program ofinstructions executable by the processor 604 to perform the variousaspects of the invention as discussed and claimed herein, and asillustrated in the drawing figures. Generally speaking, the programstorage medium can be implemented using any technology based uponmaterials having specific magnetic, optical, semiconductor or otherproperties that render them suitable for storing computer-readable data,whether such technology involves either volatile or non-volatile storagemedia. Specific examples of such media can include, but are not limitedto, magnetic hard or floppy disks drives, optical drives or CD-ROMs, andany memory technology based on semiconductors or other materials,whether implemented as read-only or random access memory. In short, thisembodiment of the invention may reside either on a medium directlyaddressable by the computer's processor (main memory, howeverimplemented) or on a medium indirectly accessible to the processor(secondary storage media such as hard disk drives, tape drives, CD-ROMdrives, floppy drives, or the like). Consistent with the above teaching,program storage device can be affixed permanently or removably to a bay,socket, connector, or other hardware provided by the cabinet,motherboard, or other component of a given computer system.

Those skilled in the art will also understand that a computer programmedin accordance with the above teaching using known programming languagesprovides suitable means for realizing the various functions, methods,and processes as described and claimed herein and as illustrated in thedrawing figure attached hereto.

Those skilled in the art, when reading this description, will understandthat unless expressly stated to the contrary, the use of the singular orthe plural number herein is illustrative, rather than limiting, of theinstant invention. Accordingly, where a given term is discussed in thesingular number, it will be well understood that the invention alsocontemplates a plural number of the item corresponding to the given termand vice versa, unless expressly stated herein to the contrary.

Various embodiments of the invention are described above to facilitate athorough understanding of various aspects of the invention. However,these embodiments are to be understood as illustrative rather thanlimiting in nature, and those skilled in the art will recognize thatvarious modifications or extensions of these embodiments will fallwithin the scope of the invention, which is defined by the appendedclaims.

The foregoing cited references, patents and publications are herebyincorporated herein by reference, as if fully set forth herein. Althoughthe foregoing invention has been described in some detail by way ofillustration and example for purposes of clarity and understanding, itmay be readily apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art in lightof the teachings of this invention that certain changes andmodifications may be made thereto without departing from the spirit orscope of the appended claims.

We claim:
 1. A method, comprising: determining, by a processor, whether at least one agent has followed at least one script relating to an automatic speech recognition component's ability to analyze at least one voice interaction between the at least one agent and at least one client; and dispositioning at least one interaction, wherein the at least one agent reads the at least one script to the at least one client, based on a comparison of a duration of the at least one interaction to an expected duration parameter associated with the at least one interaction, wherein the dispositioning comprises indicating the at least one interaction as potentially fraudulent if the duration is outside of an expected duration.
 2. The method of claim 1 comprising evaluating, by the processor, the at least one voice interaction with the automatic speech recognition component.
 3. The method of claim 2 comprising including supplying audio files of at least one voice interaction in real time and/or recording the at least one voice interaction and supplying the files to the automatic speech recognition component.
 4. The method of claim 2, wherein evaluating the at least one interaction includes at least one of the following: converting the at least one voice interaction into at least one digital signal comprising at least one spectral representation of the at least one voice interaction; comparing the at least one digital signal to at least one reference standard that includes at least one known vocabulary; and matching the at least one digital signal to at least one of words and phrases contained in the at least one reference standard.
 5. The method of claim 2, further comprising performing at least one action based upon at least one result of the evaluating of the at least one voice interaction, wherein performing at least one action includes at least one of: transmitting at least one signal to the at least one agent; transmitting at least one signal to at least one reviewing authority; and making at least one entry in at least one script compliance incentive system.
 6. The method of claim 2, wherein evaluating the at least one voice interaction includes evaluating a plurality of panels.
 7. The method of claim 6, further comprising assigning a respective score to each one of the panels.
 8. The method of claim 1 wherein whether the at least one agent has followed the at least one script is based on a plurality of first scores related to respective portions of the at least one voice interaction.
 9. The method of claim 8 wherein whether the at least one agent has followed the at least one script is based on a second score related to an overall compliance with the at least one voice interaction.
 10. The method of claim 9, wherein at least one of the first scores and the second score are different for their respective portions of the at least one voice interaction.
 11. The method of claim 1 comprising conducting the at least one voice interaction between the at least one agent and the at least one client, wherein conducting at least one voice interaction includes at least one of: conducting at least one voice interaction involving a telemarketing agent; conducting at least one voice interaction governed by at least one script that includes text corresponding to at least one offer of at least one of goods and services; conducting the at least one voice interaction at least in part on at least one communications network; conducting the at least one voice interaction at least in part on a publicly switched telephone network (PSTN); conducting the at least one voice interaction at least in part on at least one Internet; conducting the at least one voice interaction at least in part on at least one communications network having at least one wireless component; conducting at least one telephone call; conducting at least one telephone call that is initiated by the at least one client; and conducting at least one telephone call that is initiated by an entity other than the at least one client.
 12. The method of claim 1, further comprising reviewing at least one determination of whether the at least one agent has followed the at least one script.
 13. The method of claim 1, wherein determining whether the at least one agent has followed the at least one script includes defining at least one score assigned by the at least one automatic speech recognition component.
 14. The method of claim 1, further comprising comparing data representing the duration of at least one interaction, wherein the at least one agent reads at least one script to the at least one client, to data representing an expected duration parameter associated with the at least one interaction.
 15. The method of claim 1, wherein determining whether the at least one agent has followed the at least one script includes, at least in part, dispositioning at least one interaction, wherein the at least one agent reads at least one script to the at least one client, based at least in part on a comparison of data representing the duration of the at least one interaction to data representing an expected duration parameter associated with the at least one interaction.
 16. A non-transitory computer-readable medium, comprising instructions for: determining, by a processor, whether at least one agent has followed at least one script relating to an automatic speech recognition component's ability to analyze at least one voice interaction between the at least one agent and at least one client; and dispositioning at least one interaction, wherein the at least one agent reads the at least one script to the at least one client, based on a comparison of a duration of the at least one interaction to an expected duration parameter associated with the at least one interaction, wherein the dispositioning comprises indicating the at least one interaction as potentially fraudulent if the duration is outside of an expected duration.
 17. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 16, comprising instructions for evaluating, by the processor, the at least one voice interaction with the automatic speech recognition component.
 18. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 16, comprising instructions for supplying audio files of at least one voice interaction in real time and/or recording the at least one voice interaction and supplying the files to the automatic speech recognition component.
 19. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 16, wherein whether the at least one agent has followed the at least one script is based on a plurality of first scores related to respective portions of the at least one voice interaction.
 20. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 16, wherein whether the at least one agent has followed the at least one script is based on a second score related to an overall compliance with the at least one voice interaction. 